Thursday, April 2, 2015

"Why Would a Woman...."

Abortion
to me is not necessarily about what should or should not happen to the
potential baby in question, but is the option to decide what should or should
not happen to your own life. From a moral point of view, I can appreciate the
different beliefs of others, including different religious, politics, and
social norms. However, as a woman, and thinking about all I see for myself in
the future, I cannot imagine something as life altering as an unplanned child
without having at least the option of abortion.

Pregnancy is circumstantial, and
can be an extraordinary event in a woman’s life. But it also has the potential
to alter the course of a woman’s life in a way she may not have been planning
for. Babies take money, love, commitment, responsibility, stability, time, and
so much more. In the famous case of Roe vs. Wade, a young woman named Norma Leah Nelson
was impregnated three times out of wedlock by the time she was 21. Back in the
1960’s, being pregnant even once out of wedlock was a crime against society,
and even more importantly against god. The consequences of an unplanned and
“illegitimate” pregnancy were often fatal, ruining a woman’s reputation and
future. The only control a woman had over her situation and body was dictated
by strict laws that stated she could only obtain an abortion for her own
medical necessity or in the case of a rape.

Norma requested an abortion for her
third child, claiming it was the tragic result of a gang rape. Her lawyers took
her case all the way to the Supreme Court, who eventually ruled in her favor
and stated that the U.S. Constitution granted a woman’s right to privacy. Because
of this decision, abortion became more readily available to women who sought to
end their pregnancies. This decision also increased the health and safety of abortions, making the
procedure much less threatening the patient’s life.